We went to Houston, Texas in the summer of 1996 for my brother Bill's wedding to Brenda and while there toured the Battleship Texas. It was really somthing to see and well worth the time (both the wedding and the Texas) . The Texas served in both World Wars and is last surviving one of its type. My father (in WWII) laid down smoke screen cover for the Marines going ashore, from the Texas, in the battle for Okinawa.
Moving into the Pacific in late 1944, she provided support from Febrary to March 1945 for taking Iwo Jima, firing 923 rounds from her main battery. Starting March 25, 1945, she took part in the invasion of Okinawa, the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific theater. For six weeks she bombarded the coast, using up four shiploads of ammunition. When BB35 withdrew from Okinawa on May 14, she had shot down one attacking kamikaze, assisted in destroying two others, and fired 2019 rounds of 14-inch ammunition. Thereafter, the TEXAS patrolled in the Philippine area until the cease-fire on August 15. At the end of the war, she made four voyages to California, bringing troops home from the Pacific.
The TEXAS was one of the first true battleships in the US Navy. This New York class battleshipwas the most powerful warship ever built when it was commissioned in 1914. The TEXAS served i n both WWI and WWII with distinction. Most notably, the TEXAS participated in Operation Overlord, or D-Day, as well as Iwo Jima, Okinawa and many other campaigns in the Pacific.
At the end of WWII, the TEXAS was decommissioned and destined for either scrap yard or nuclear bomb tests(the fate which befell its sister ship, USS NEW YORK-BB34). Fortunately, intervention by the people of the state of Texas as well as the Secretary of the Navy prevented this. In 1948, the USS TEXAS was presented to the state of Texas as a gift intended to serve as a war memorial. The TEXAS was then brought to San Jacinto, site of the conclusive battle that won indepence for Texas from Mexico in 1836. The ship was berthed in a slip right off the Houston Ship Channel.
In 1983, Hurricane Alicia struck the Texas coast. The TEXAS was feared damaged when it lifted itself from its resting position on the channel's bottom and actually floated free due to the channel's flooding. Inspection by divers later discovered that although the TEXAS was undamaged, the ship's hull was in poor condition after over 30 years of neglect. Fundraising efforts were begun and by the time the state's Sesquicentennial Anniversary rolled around in 1986 celebrating 150 years of Texan independence, enough money had been collected from the people of Texas, the US Navy, several coporations and other sources that a refit of the ship could be carried out.
The next obstacle the TEXAS had to overcome was getting down the Houston Ship Channel to the drydock to undergo refit. There were fears that the weakened hull of the TEXAS would break up and the old battleship would sink in the channel, blocking the world's 8th busiest port(2nd busiest in the United States). However the TEXAS made the trip to Todd's Shipyard on Pelican Island in Galveston, TX, without incident.
A year later, with a new hull and refitted decks, the refurbished TEXAS returned to its rennovated berth at San Jacinto. Shipboard rennovations followed which included a new paint scheme to match the wartime colors of the TEXAS as well as new sections of the ship being opened to the public.
Today the TEXAS is open to the public daily and serves as both a memorial to the men and women that served in WWI and WWII and as an education tool. It is administered by the State of Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife and is undergoing continuous restoration. Points of interest aboard include the Admiral's stateroom(used by admirals when the TEXAS was the flagship of the US Pacific Fleet), the radar room(the TEXAS was the first battleship to be fitted with radar), the engineering section(the inverted, triple reciprocating engine is registered as a Historical Engineering site).
Check out this Site: BATTLE SHIP TEXAS BB-35
The complete history of the Battleship Texas: DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN NAVAL FIGHTING SHIPS
Check out this fine page on Battleships, Carriers and All other Warships, Click Here: Guy Derdall's page
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